Franklin Resources, Inc. $BEN Shares Purchased by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) by 237.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,507 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after buying an additional 34,827 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Franklin Resources were worth $1,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Franklin Resources by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 56,151 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Franklin Resources by 4.0% during the first quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 10,194 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 1,512 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 12.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,671 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sigma Planning Corp increased its position in Franklin Resources by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 67,747 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Franklin Resources stock opened at $34.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.54. Franklin Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $36.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Franklin Resources, Inc. will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is 89.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on BEN shares. Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Zacks Research cut Franklin Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.44.

Franklin Resources Profile

Franklin Resources, Inc, doing business as Franklin Templeton, is a global investment management organization that offers a wide range of asset management solutions to institutional and individual investors. The firm’s core focus is on delivering active portfolio management across equities, fixed income, multi-asset strategies and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton’s product lineup includes mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, separately managed accounts and sub-advisory services designed to meet varying risk-return objectives and income needs.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.